At the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), we are committed to investing in our communities for a better New Jersey, and we work to achieve that goal through a variety of innovative programs.To ensure a great quality of life for residents, we know we must provide jobs, housing, and economic growth, while at the same time preserving and protecting our natural resources. In short,we must incorporate both economic growth and environmental preservation. In 1998, DCA launched the state’s first sustainable-development pilot program to test the viability of building energy-efficient, environmentally friendly affordable housing. The program required all units in the pilot to meet the standards of the Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) Energy-Efficient Home (EEH) 5-Star Program. This program was one of the precursors to what is now known as the national EPA/DOE Energy Star Program. In an effort to promote a market-transforming approach to energy- and resource-efficient design, construction, and methodologies, 367 units were designed and built.The success of the pilot resulted in the creation of DCA’s Green Homes Office (GHO) two years later. &...